Finance and Economic

After four years of relative stability, Savvis Inc. is again looking for a new chief executive.

Phil Koen, who took the helm of the Town and Country-based company during a turbulent time, resigned abruptly Friday.

Koen will be replaced temporarily by Savvis Chairman Jim Ousley while the company searches for a more permanent option. The search is expected to take three to six months.

On Monday, Ousley said Koen’s departure is simply part of the company’s evolution. Koen joined the cloud computing firm — it provides information technology services and data storage for other companies — after former CEO Robert McCormick’s ugly departure. He left in late 2005 amid controversy over a $241,000 bill at a New York topless club that had been charged to a company credit card.

During Koen’s tenure, the company remade itself through acquisitions and the construction of data centers.

"The new CEO will have different traits than Phil. But Phil’s were ideal for that time," Ousley said.

Where Koen excelled in operational and financial areas, the new leader will be expected to have strong business development and sales and marketing skills, he said.

There’s certainly a challenge awaiting the company’s next chief executive.

After several years of significant losses following the dot-com bust, the firm finally turned a profit in 2007, only to slip again when the economy failed. Still, Ousley said Savvis is confident it is positioned to take advantage of an improving economic environment.

As to the suddenness of Koen’s departure, Ousley said it followed lengthy discussions about the company’s future and whether Koen wanted to commit another three to four years. Once the decision was made, there was no reason to put it off, with a considerable amount of strategic planning about be done, Ousley said.

"It came quicker just because it was the end of the year," he said.

In a company release, Koen cited the strength of the company’s management team and said "this is an excellent time for me to move on to a new opportunity and to watch Savvis continue to grow and excel."

Ousley also said the company has no plans to leave the St. Louis area.

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